Best material for jack supports?

trail-explorer wrote:

realter wrote:
Are you guys saying that a camper on one foot square pieces of wood stacked 3 feet high is dangerous???

Yes. It's not stable.

A stack of Rail Road ties three feet high would be unstable.

realter wrote:
Are you guys saying that a camper on one foot square pieces of wood stacked 3 feet high is dangerous???

Yes. It's not stable.

THANKS, now a bunch of advice I didn't want to hear. BTW, what is cribbing? What do you mean by "there is major difference between stacking and cribbing"? Are you guys saying that a camper on one foot square pieces of wood stacked 3 feet high is dangerous???

realter wrote:
I would like to be able to just back in under the camper without having to jack the camper up more than a few inches. It is stored inside. So if I have boards that are stacked up maybe 3' high or so. Wondering what type of lumber would be best, 2x4, plywood, particle board, etc. The boards would be cut to approx. one foot square. Thanks

NONE OF THE ABOVE.

A stack of boards 3' high and only 12" square will be UNSTABLE as all get-out! Ever played Jenga?

There is nothing wrong with leaving the camper up on the extended jacks. Maybe with 6-12" of blocking under each foot, but NOT 3'!!!

AnEv942 wrote:
Scarry. at least what Im reading..
While stationary jack extensions sounds like a good idea as far as not having to raise & lower the camper jacks as far and still drive in/out... creating 4 independant 'pedestals' that are taller than base (3' ?), your setting up potential disaster. I suppose you could tie sides together-possibly across the back and still drive in/out, attach something across front after moving truck. Better/safer would be other ideas mentioned, after moving truck put something under camper at raised bed height to stabalize, X boxes, sawhorses, pallets even etc.

Do not ignore this post. In my youth, I worked for a time moving houses and other big objects. Everyday we worked with cribbing to raise and lower buildings, and keep them lifted for foundation work. There is a major difference in cribbing and stacking blocks. Stacking blocks is very unstable, the higher you stack, the less stable it is. The smaller the footprint, the less stable it is.

I find vs jacking it way up and down, or stacking blocks under your jacks, get some heavy duty saw horses made to put under the tub and then lower the camper down onto them.

Make them high enough that you only have to raise the camper back up a few inches to clear.

This way, your jacks aren't on platforms and you don't have to raise it as high.

Scarry. at least what Im reading..
While stationary jack extensions sounds like a good idea as far as not having to raise & lower the camper jacks as far and still drive in/out... creating 4 independant 'pedestals' that are taller than base (3' ?), your setting up potential disaster. I suppose you could tie sides together-possibly across the back and still drive in/out, attach something across front after moving truck. Better/safer would be other ideas mentioned, after moving truck put something under camper at raised bed height to stabalize, X boxes, sawhorses, pallets even etc.

Using the "X" slotted plywood as Led 67 posted would be my first choice, especially on a cement floor. I would use 5/8" CDX plywood. Much more stable, easier to setup/tear down and store.

OK first things first...Do Not use particle board as it will desintegrate when it gets damp. The heavy duty sawhorses are a good option as are the blocking and cribbing options, The one option that I have not seen is a couple of pieces of plywood slotted so that they form an X when assembled. Good Luck

Geez glad I checked back on this post...After reading some of the following post to this I feel that I need to clarify myself a little bit, First the X that I am talking about is used under the belly of the camper so when you pull out you simply assemble your plywood sheets on edge and set the camper down on it. Second, the plywood ,as Reddog stated, should be CDX and a minnimum of 5/8 inch thickness, also you should drill a small hole about the center of each sheet for a small rope to tie into so as not to allow the plywood X to spread too far out. Third Never Never Never try to block any jack supports over 12 inches high, even then you will be pushing the limits, if you have manual jacks and do not like cranking on them then either make or buy a drill adapter for that purpose. Good Luck

The simple option for would be stacking 3 concrete blocks with a piece of wood on top. If you use wood I would recommend pressure treated lumber. The 6x6 would be a solution if you have a saw that can cut 5.5" thick wood. If you want and approximate 1' by 1' "pedistal" 3' tall you would need to cut 12 sections at 11" each as a 6x6 is only 5.5"x5.5". Place 2 sections on the floor and the next 2 sections on top perpendicular, like cribbing. This would be really solid and you would need 4 12' long 6x6. You could also do this with 2x6 placing them perpendicular to each other as above. You could screw them together and would only need a couple screws in each. This is the method I use for my landing gear on my 5er but they are only 5 boards high, or about 8". I placed a handle on the side for ease in handling.